


Never Know What You Have

by sandstonepebbles



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Love/Hate, M/M, Oblivious, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-17 16:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9333545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandstonepebbles/pseuds/sandstonepebbles
Summary: A fortune-telling omnic gives Jack a card with a clue to his soulmate. Gabe thinks it's ridiculous.





	1. Chapter 1

Not a bad day considering, Gabe thought as he tugged his gloves off as he sat down at his field desk. They were steadily pushing back what had to be the last serious Omnic invasion. Recent Overwatch losses hadn’t been all that bad and the higher-ups were already talking about what happens after the war ends. There was a place for Overwatch in the rebuilding. And Gabe sure the hell knew that Overwatch would still have a lot of clean-up to do. 

Jack arrived and unceremoniously dropped into a chair across from Gabe, leaning back and putting with feet on the desk. Gabe gave him a look but Jack ignored him. “I got almost all the reports done. One more to go. But I need to eat and mainline coffee.” He flicked a card between his fingers.

"What's this?" Gabe asked as he snatched the card out of Jack's hand.

Jack shrugged. "Omnic gave it to me when we set up in the village. Said they wanted to thank me for saving their town -- said it was my soulmate mark."

"A barn owl? That's your soulmate mark?" Gabe tossed the card back at Jack. "Your mark should be a big effin' gun since you love your pulse gun so much."

Jack looked at the card ruefully and tucked it into his pocket. "Yeah, well, whatever, I guess."

“Soulmates. Wow. I haven’t heard that since I enlisted,” Gabe scoffed. 

“Yeah, you’re just sayin’ that because you don’t have one,” Jack replied with a broad smile. He crossed his arms behind his head. 

Gabe sometimes couldn’t tell if he wanted to kiss Jack or punch him or maybe both. A great guy, fantastic soldier and a genius when came to smooth-talking the brass and filing all forms and reports but an adrenaline junkie and a smartass to the core. And Gabe would not ever admit to a living soul that Jack had the best damn ass he’d seen on a white boy.

“You need to get on that report,” Gabe huffed.

“Sleep first. Even super-soldiers get tired. Then report.” Jack fake-yawned to prove his point. “Hmm, maybe pizza or barbeque first. No – food, then sleep, then report.”

“Seriously, Jack. Get me the damn report.”

 

Soulmates. Gabe still scoffed at the idea the next day while he surveyed the town they had just saved from hostile Omnics. They’d be leaving once the advance troops cleared out more of the road ahead. They had their orders. “Commander Reyes?” one of the aid workers asked him. “You wanted to know about a fortune-telling omnic?”

It turned out that Jack’s omnic was famous for telling people and omnics their futures and soulmates. Big local hero actually. The omnic studied Gabe for five minutes, whirred a couple of minutes more and popped out a card. “Thank you, Commander, for rescuing us,” the omnic intoned.

“Um, you’re welcome,” Gabe replied. He had no idea what he was looking at on his card. A tactical visor? That’s what it looked like.

A local tugged on Gabe’s sleeve. “They’re always right, about the soulmates. They’ve never been wrong. May take a while. But people and omnics always find their match once made.”

“Right,” Gabe replied.

Later that day, he found the card in his back pocket as he got ready for bed. No, still showed a tactical visor. He had no idea what he was expecting, really, from the omnic. He had no business looking for a soulmate in the first place. He had too damn much work to do. He angrily threw the card into one of his duffle bags and went to bed. Where he decidedly did not dream of a soulmate, his grandmother’s big family Sunday dinners, or Jack writhing naked on his lap.

 

There were plans in those last days of the Omnic Crisis to expand Overwatch and give Jack his own command. Gabe had single-handedly built his special operations squads to be the best in the world. He poured blood, sweat and tears into fighting the omnics and into Overwatch. Jack was one of the most important cogs in the machine and he was Gabe’s right hand man. Gabe wasn’t going to cut his right arm off any more than he was going to let desk jockeys rip Jack away.

Jack did all the crap Gabe hated. He wrote the reports, the condolence letters, managed reporters and busy-bodies, smoothed out logistics, and always had the freshest gossip. He had a way of melding his strategic ideas with Gabe’s battlefield tactics. Jack made Gabe’s life better.

And the fucking worst of it is that people told Gabe all the time that Jack was a ray of sunshine. Gabe knew better. Gabe saw him caked in blood, mud and oil mowing down a line of omnics or puking up his guts after a SEP treatment or swearing a blue streak at a flat tire. He made Jack call his family in Indiana when Jack hadn’t talked to them in months and made Jack go on leave when his nerves were fraying and a danger to himself and others. They drank together in Gabe’s quarters talking about the nightmares and the horrors. He knew Jack like no one else did. 

Gabe resisted and resisted polite requests to reassign Jack. He swore in Spanish under his breath with every memo and an important meeting. Gabe finally slammed the door on the almost-command to reassign Jack. He looked at the generals right in the eye. “No, Morrison works for me and he stays with me.” 

He strode out of that meeting with all the swagger due a hero of the Omnic Crisis. He won his battle and his war with the generals. Morrison stayed.

Ana didn’t see it that way. Gabe already trusted his life with her, one of newest stars of Overwatch with her amazing sniper kills. She was a solid person and gave as good as she got. “You need to let Jack go,” she said at lunch.

“What?” Gabe asked. “The generals are talking out their asses.”

She pursed her lips and shook her head tightly. “I don’t know what you heard, Gabe. But you need to be careful here. They’ll take Jack from you whether or not you approve. It’s just a matter of time. Better to let him have his own command. It’ll be good for you. And for him.”

Gabe laughed harshly. “Is it better to break up one well-oiled, perfectly functioning unit to make paper-pushers happy? Two units ain’t gonna be better than what we have now.”

Ana sighed. She picked at the last of her fries for another minute. “Gabe, are you keeping Jack around because you love him?”

“He’s my brother, Ana.” Gabe leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and glancing out the window. Nice weather, shame if they had to mobilize for an attack. “I’ve known him since he was eighteen and didn’t know his elbow from his asshole. My grandmother sends him food because she worries he’s too thin. Come on! He’s the best at what he does and I only want the best working for me.”

“Okay.” She folded up the napkin in her lap and set it down on the table. “You know best.” She shrugged. 

 

Jack heard high-level rumors that any day now that the God AIs and their omnic armies were going to surrender. That’s what he told Gabe while they were sitting on a balcony late at night overlooking a lake somewhere in Europe. Gabe never made much note of the names of place they went these days. Countries were reduced to tactical concerns about hills, valleys, forests, towns, all exploitable terrain to trap and destroy the enemy. The table and deck were covered with bottles of beer and vodka and some mystery firewater concoction Jack unearthed.

“Never thought I see the day,” Gabe admitted. It was quiet out here and just the two of them shooting the breeze. He didn’t ever get to do this with just Jack. There were always friends and friends of friends hanging around and lots of other places to be and things to do. They really should do this more often, just them alone.

“Yeah. Overwatch – we’re sticking around. I’m thinking that we could expand – you know, expand operations including disaster response and research facilities. There’s a lot we could do with medical research for one thing.”

Jack always talked like this in private about how Overwatch could be this shining organization to heal the world. Gabe thought it was all bullshit. Overwatch was built to be an army to fight world invasions. That’s what it did best.

But he was feeling at ease and didn’t want to ruin the evening. “Sure, Jackie.” He drank his beer and listened to Jack’s way-too-ambitious crazy plans for Overwatch.

Not that it was a hardship for Gabe to listen to Jack talk for hours. Jack’s face lit up all the way from the inside and it was so goddamn beautiful to see him all enthused and happy and his eyes bright and flashing. They laughed, shot the shit, and Jack was that cocky guy Gabe met all the way back in SEP. Gabe didn’t get how Jack didn’t mind putting a fake face to the UN or the brass. Right here right now was the Jack he loved. Crazy and full of ideas Jack.

Jack’s hand was there so close to his. There wasn’t a thing that Gabe didn’t know about Jack’s body naked or clothed. But he couldn’t do something as simple as reaching out to entwine his fingers in Jack’s. For all Jack’s closeness right now, he might as well as be on the fucking moon to Gabe. 

Gabe had thought about it – kissing Jack and more. Last year, he even almost said something about it. But he got cold feet -- there was something on the other side that scared the hell of Gabe. Losing Jack to a separate command was one thing. But having something else with Jack, being something else – he didn’t want to go there. Gabe lived in the present after all and thinking about the future was useless for a soldier like him. He still had a war on his hands.

Ridiculous dreamer Jack was all about the future. “Do you think you’re going to retire after the end of the war?” Jack asked.

“Hmmm, what?”

“Retire – do you think you’re going to retire? We’re in our thirties now – maybe settle down. I ain’t going back to Bloomington that’s for damn sure.”

Gabe knew that Jack still kept that silly omnic soulmate card in a wallet. Like he was really going to meet his barn owl soulmate some damn day. “I don’t know, I’ve kicked around going back to L.A., maybe find someone to settle down with. It’d been nice.”

“Yeah,” Jack replied tightly. “You know, Gabe, what about, maybe, you know, me and –“

Gabe was still thinking of L.A. and his mom and his sisters and their kids. “I could go back, a nice long visit. See what’s left for me there. I’ve got this car in storage –“

“Oh, right, one of your wrecks –“

“It’s a classic, needs a little work, a little love, Morrison. You don’t know a damn thing about good cars, you know?”

“Just because I have taste and common sense.”

“Let me set you straight, pendejo, about Corvettes.”

They reminisced and laughed the night away. “We’re got a briefing in the morning,” Jake finally said as he poured out the last of the vodka into Gabe’s glass.

“What in, two hours?” he snorted. He slammed the shot back. God bless SEP and fast recovery.

Jack suddenly straightened up. “Look, Gabe, you’ve got to be careful around the higher-ups. There’s something going on – I don’t know what it is, no one’s talking. But it’s big.”

“Yeah, they’re probably thinking of making more generals and making our life hell, Jackie. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“I’m a big damn boy. I’ll be okay.” He clapped a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Whatever it is, we’ll be just fine. They ain’t going to touch us.”


	2. Chapter 2

Thinking back on it, Gabe missed something somewhere with someone. He didn’t hear or was distracted or left out of the right conversation at the right time. No one warned him. No one pointed out the danger signs. He got blindsided by everyone.

In the end, they did take Jack from him.

No, worse. Jack left him. To be the Strike Commander of Overwatch. To take the job that Gabe should have had. 

To his credit, Jack didn’t expect Gabe to be happy for him. He stood in the hallway with his hands shoved in his pockets and could barely look at Gabe. “Um, so that was a thing,” he said.

“What the hell, Morrison?” Gabe asked, biting back all the questions and accusations he wanted to yell at his friend.

“They asked. I was the first choice and I get to do things that I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Build your fucking empire of buildings and programs over a foundation of crazy and dreams?” 

Jack said nothing, his lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes hooded. Finally, he took a deep breath. “There’s a place for you in Overwatch – always.” He turned and walked away.

A few days later, Gabe stood with Ana to watch Jack get inducted as Strike-Commander. High-spirited Ana kept pushing tid-bits of food at Gabe. “Try this,” she said. “Come on – a little bit of food can’t kill you.”

Gabe tried not to stare at Jack. Jack had adopted a fancier version of his blue battle duster, now a bit more elaborate and swingy and topped off with the fancy new badge of the Strike-Commander. His eyes were bluer, his hair blonder and his smile easier. Peace had been good for Jack. Still, Gabe wanted to knock that ridiculous eye visor off his face. He’d given Jack grief for months about it. But Jack never relented – he seriously believed that the visor helped with his tactics and communications. Jack was even wearing it now at the induction ceremony.

Ana didn’t ask Gabe if he was still angry he hadn’t been promoted to Strike Commander. She knew, they all knew. “Oh, look, they’re sending out a bunch of new hors d’oeuvres.”

“I don’t need food,” Gabe finally growled.

“It’s the only good thing about these events,” Ana replied. “Watch out – reporter on your six.”

Gabe’s appointment as the commander of Blackwatch had been announced that morning. He knew in his heart of hearts that it was a peace offering from Jack. Gabe could have whatever he wanted – any personnel, any supplies, any budget, any base, no questions asked. He had to admit it took away a lot of the sting. He could go into the field and sitting at a desk would kill Jack in time. His problem, not Gabe’s.

Shaking hands for hours, taking photos, and making small talk with reporters, UN officials and other well-wishers, family members of officials, local government representatives ate away at Gabe. Until the reception started to wind down and Ana sprung him free.

“I told you – you should eat. Makes all this fuss easier to deal with.” She nudged him with a smile.

“They’re going to eat him alive. I don’t give him two years before he quits – one year, tops.”

Ana looked back at the reception hall. “Jack was born to do this – he loves people and talking up Overwatch. He’ll be fine.”

Gabe scowled. “I don’t get it –“

She put a hand on his arm. “Gabe – Jack is our best option. If it wasn’t him, the UN would have found one of their people to run it. Do you want that?”

“Ana –“

“Think long and hard about it, Gabe. You know what it’s like in the field – no good choices, only choices. It’s the same here – it’s just a different fight.”

Gabe looked back at the room, the open doors now framing Jack like some angel from those Renaissance paintings in gold leaf and bright colors. Jack caught his eye and gave a wave. Gabe looked away, all the anger coming back to him.

Ana drew closer. “To be honest, Gabe, you were never in the running for Strike Commander,” she said in a low voice. “We all knew that. Jack asked about it when they offered him the job. The people in charge – you’ve pissed off too many people, made some powerful enemies.”

He shook off her arm angrily and stomped off down the hall.

“Stop, Gabe, come back –“ Ana called after him.

But Gabe didn’t stop. He was far too enraged to talk to anyone.

He calmed down after a couple of days. He watched, listened and paid careful attention to their UN watchdogs. He saw what Ana told him. He saw the smug faces of generals and diplomats who had plotted against him gladly working with their new Strike Commander. 

Despite his sterling war and service records, despite college and ROTC, despite doing everything right the way he was told to, Gabe lost a war on a battlefield he didn’t understand or even know about. He got it now. He knew his enemies too late to save himself. At least he had Blackwatch, a purpose and his friends.

He showed up on Jack’s office doorstep with a six pack and a smile, his own olive branch to Jack. “Hey, I’m kidnapping you. Come on.”

Jack beamed like the sun coming from behind the clouds. He jumped up and pulled Gabe into a hug. “Yeah, let’s get out here.”

They grabbed more beer on their way to the lake. Sitting outside, throwing rocks across the lake, drinking beer, they talked and talked and talked. Laughing until he had tears in the corner of his eyes, Gabe ruffled up Jack’s hair. “Bet you that they make you get a desk jockey haircut. Make you wear a tie or something.”

“No one is making me wear a tie,” Jack declared. “I can write an order stating that Morrison doesn’t wear a tie. Now about your beanie –“

“You’ll pry that out of my dead hands, Morrison,” Gabe growled.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Sure, Gabe, we’ll bury you in it.”

He knocked back another beer. Gabe had missed Jack too goddamn much. All the other crap and bullshit just melted away, leaving just them sitting here at the lake like the friends they were.

When Gabe moved into his new office with the spectacular view of Lake Zurich and the main Overwatch base under construction, his friends gave him gifts. Jake gave him a pre-paid bar tab at the base bar and a small odd shaped package with a label marked ‘For your desk.’ Gabe finally opened it one quiet afternoon. The bastard had swiped that omnic fortune card long ago and had framed it. 

“I’m not putting that one my wall,” he said over the phone.

“Call it found art and everyone will talk about the line work,” Jack replied. “Put it on your desk where you can see it every day and wonder where your soulmate is.”

“You’re bastard, you know that,” Gabe laughed. 

“That’s Mr. Bastard to you. See you soon, Gabe.”

 

Blackwatch took up of his time. Gabe had his hands full with cleaning up messes left over from the Crisis. Then he had training, recruiting, mission planning, and so on and so on. He was constantly on the go for months, living out of suitcases and only catching up with friends when they were in the same city at the right time. 

He racked up the successful missions and the citations and the awards and the medals. In public, he smiled and said he was honored to be recognized. Then back in whatever office he was using, he threw it all into drawer or a suitcase because they were all useless in the end. He wasn’t ever going to be Strike Commander and no amount of awards was going to change that.

Then he got orders to go to L.A. for a three month leave. 

“What the hell, Jack?” he asked. 

“Everyone needs some time off. Enjoy it. We’ll all be fine while you’re gone,” Jack replied.

Gabe walked up the front steps of the home he’d grown up in. It had been years since he was here and the breath stuck in his throat as he reached for the door. The door opened, his mother swept him up in a huge hug and his sisters cried to see him. The rest of his family cheered as he crossed through door into the house. His mother had laid out acres of food and the Reyeses partied all through the night, welcoming Gabe home.

Three months later and it felt like he never been away. Nothing like sitting on the front porch in the evening with his mother and friends. Kids played basketball down the street. Otherwise quiet. Gabe hadn’t felt an ease in his heart like this in years. Overwatch miles and miles away. 

His phone buzzed. It was Jack and Gabe picked up the call with a smile. “Hey, you said you wouldn’t call unless there’s an emergency.”

Jack chuckled. “Maybe it is. Come home -- we all miss you.”


	3. Chapter 3

As far as Gabe could tell, Overwatch was humming along. Jack trusted Gabe to run Blackwatch and Gabe didn’t complain in public about Jack’s decisions running Overwatch. Even though Gabe had no idea what the hell Jack thought he was accomplishing with the establishment of the biomedical research arm and the hiring of an army of doctors, post-docs and students.

He couldn’t help but notice that his friends were moving on with families and other friends and new jobs. The base itself kept expanding, now with the research campus and a new housing development. Ana had picked a small tidy two bedroom house with a bit of a garden. She had a daughter now and wanted a home for her.

“There’s plenty of houses like this one,” Ana said to him at her house. Fareeha was running around them and the kitchen table pretending to shoot hostile omnics. “You’d like it here – there’s a lot of activity all the time. Reinhardt is moving into a house the next street over. There are people who mow your grass too!”

“Not me, Ana.” He’d seen the brochures when Jack approved the development. He wasn’t in the market for suburbia of any sort.

“I don’t get it, Gabe. You still like living out of suitcases, being a nomad.”

“I get to travel –“

“Yeah, make new friends and shoot them.”

“It’s the job.”

“And the war’s been over for years now. I wish you were around more. Who else am I going to drink under the table?”

Gabe laughed. The truth was that he could cut back on his Blackwatch work. He didn’t need to be in the field all that much. He lived at the main base about two weeks out of the month, traveled the rest of the time. Made it hard to keep up with people. Even Jack who would drop anything from his schedule to meet up with Gabe for dinner or a car ride through the mountains.

He liked it that way – distance from Overwatch made him forget why his blood boiled when Jack made bone-headed decisions. Being at the main base reminded him that Overwatch was going in all the wrong directions and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

“Where is that babysitter?” Ana asked getting up from her seat. “She should have been here already. Reinhardt is going to blow a gasket if we’re late leaving.”

Ana, Reinhardt, Jack and a dozen others were heading out for the weekend. Gérard was getting married in a few months and they were having a party up a ski lodge. An hour later they were on the road. Jack sat in the back, buried in some last minute work. Ana nudged him. “I’ll be done when we get there,” he muttered, scrolling through his tablet.

As soon as they got to the lodge, Reinhardt took the tablet out of Jack’s hands. He ruffled the Strike Commander’s hair. “No more work, Jack.”

Gabe lazed by the indoor pool with the rest of the group. They had been drinking for a couple of hours and Gérard was in the middle of yet another story of how he met Amélie. Reinhardt turned to Gabe. “You need to get Morrison. He was supposed to be down here an hour ago.”

He found Jack faffing about in his bathroom. “Reinhardt sent me to get you. He thinks you’re still working.”

“Nope. I got distracted reading.” Jack walked out of the bathroom in his swim trucks.

Gabe was already too buzzed for his own good. And apparently lost all inhibitions along the way. He nearly drooled over Jack, gorgeous with his blue trunks and nicely cut body. He let his eyes sweep up and down his friend’s body, taking in the entire sight. Jack still had it in spades after all these years. “You’re going to have beat them off with a stick,” he said gruffly.

Jack snorted. “I can’t believe you’re three sheets to the wind already.”

“Reinhardt brought some homebrew.”

Gabe stumbled on the rug and bumped into Jack. He reached out to steady Gabe. They stood there, kind of holding onto each other. 

“What’s the deal with the tattoo?” Gabe said. “When did you get this?” He ran a finger up and down the owl on Jack’s bicep. The image rang a faint bell, like he should know what it was or meant. He didn’t know if the tattoo would last with the SEP junk running through Jack but it would be beautiful while it lasted. 

“I wanted to cover a scar. So I got it,” Jack replied with a shrug. “I thought I told you about it. You didn’t tell me you were growing out your hair.” He tugged on a few curls bouncing on Gabe’s forehead.

“Gonna shave it all off when we get back.”

“Sure you are,” Jack said sarcastically. “How else are you going to get all the girls?”

“Who said I’m looking for a girl?” 

Gabe was very conscious he was now holding a very warm Jack in his arms. He had no idea when he had put his hands on Jack’s hips. And he was very much aware of Jack’s smile, the heat pooling in his stomach, and the depths in Jack’s blue eyes. He curled his hand around the back of Jack’s neck, catching a couple of tufts of soft hair in his fingers. Jack licked his red lips and Gabe bent down –

“Hey – where did you all go?” Ana laughed.

Jack spun out of Gabe’s embrace. “Gabe said you all started without me.”

“Look at you Jack Morrison. No one’s gonna look at anyone else – you’re so pretty.” Ana pushed Jack and a stunned Gabe out of the room. “Let’s go have fun!”

 

Despite the alcohol and the late night, Gabe didn’t sleep at all. He tossed and turned remembering that he’d been drunk enough to nearly kiss Jack. He shuddered to think what Jack thought of him now. Gabe had been such a complete ass. He dug his hole even deeper by avoiding Jack for the rest of the night like he was five. And then he stared like his life depended on it at Jack gyrating on the dance floor after Ana dragged the group out to the lodge club. Jack had noticed. Then he couldn’t put the tattoo out of his mind either – he wanted to see it again on Jack’s bare bicep. In his bed if possible.

He groaned. What the hell was wrong with him? He threw off the sheets and went for a walk to clear his head.

A washed and pressed Jack was sitting in the lobby in the pre-dawn darkness. His coat was laid over the suitcase next to his knee. This couldn’t be good.

Gabe slid into the chair across from him. “Jack, what’s going on?”

“I’m going back to base.” He was scrolling through his tablet. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Look at this.” He handed the tablet. “Did you know about this?”

Horrified, Gabe read the story about Overwatch Special Ops agents accused of running an extortion ring. “I didn’t know, Jack.”

“I got the news an hour ago – it’s on every major news site this morning. I have to talk to the oversight commissioners when I arrive, then the press. Going to be a long day.”

“I’ll round up all the guys involved and dismiss ‘em. That’s the only solution.”

“Gabe.” Jack took a deep breath. “Gabe, Overwatch is now a huge organization and there’s bound to be a problem here and there. But something like this – when it happens, it kills a little part of Overwatch that can’t grow back. I’m going to have to fire people, some of them good and decent but still responsible, to fix this. Then we’ll all have to work twice as hard to earn trust back.”

A woman came up to them. “Commander Morrison, your car is here.”

“Thank you.” All business, Jack snapped on his headset with the holograph lens. “Tell Reinhardt and Ana about this and tell them I’m sorry I have to go.”

“Hey, wait –“ Gabe grabbed his shoulder. 

Jack stopped, turned, and gave him a half-smile and an expectant look. “Yeah?”

“You trust me, right?”

Jack slumped a little and sighed heavily. “Yeah, yeah, I trust you.”

“Good. That’s all I need.” 

 

Jack was dating someone.

Gabe found out through the base grapevine, not from Jack himself. A few missions away and the world changed. Gabe didn’t believe the rumors. Not at first. 

Reinhardt confirmed Jack’s boyfriend in an indirect way when he talked about a party that Gabe missed. He shrugged his huge shoulders at Gabe’s questions. “Eh, I don’t know the details. Its Jack’s life, you know. Nice guy though.”

Ana said pointedly, “You need to ask Jack, Gabe, not interrogate your friends about Jack. Go to the source.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Unless you don’t want to know the answer?”

Shaking his head, Gabe threw his hands up. “Whatever. Keep your secrets. Don’t tell me.”

He’d spent the better part of the year fighting paramilitary gangs in the United States. He returned to Zurich with a collection of wanted criminals, black market goods, intelligence about a shadowy group calling themselves Talon, and one lost and scared kid named Jesse McCree. Gabe planned to convince the kid to join Overwatch and ditch the cowboy hat.

Gabe was trying to settle back into life at the main base. The tedium of base living and work rubbed his nerves raw after a few days back at base. But he knew he’d been away too long this time. Reinhardt tired easily after a morning workout. Torbjörn was off on sabbatical with his wife at an engineering school in Germany. Fareeha was growing up fast and Ana had little crinkles around her eyes and wore shawls when she got cold. Gabe hadn’t changed but everyone else around him had.

The words ‘Jack’s boyfriend’ rang oddly in Gabe’s ears. He’d known Jack back when Jack slept with any guy that moved. He remembered the wild parties and walking in on Jack all flush, bare chest, and his jeans hanging low on his hips. God he was the hottest thing on earth. Then it all stopped. Jack lived like a monk, constantly working or training or fighting. War can change a guy. And the Strike Commander wasn’t throwing any parties at headquarters these days.

Now Jack had enough of a boyfriend that their friends had met him.

“About Jack’s boyfriend –“

Ana rolled her eyes. “You have a one-track mind. Talk to Jack, Gabe.”

He met Jack’s boyfriend by accident in a hallway near Jack’s office. A quick introduction from Jack. “I want you to meet my boyfriend –“ 

Gabe couldn’t stand it. 

Jack’s boyfriend Noah was the worst sort of wishy-washy civilian who looked like he could barely function outside an office or coffee shop. He was an accountant or an account manager or something like that at one of the banks in Zurich. As he shook the man’s hand, he wondered if Noah would be able to find his way back to the base if Gabe dropped him off blindfolded on the side of a mountain road with maybe a compass.

“Butt out,” Ana said as they shot up the firing range. “It’s none of your business.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Gabe insisted. 

“You glowered at Jack’s boyfriend all through lunch and acted like he ran over your dog and single-handedly started the Omnic Crisis.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“He isn’t the secret leader of Los Muertos either. And don’t act like you didn’t run a background check – you can’t hide a thing from me. I’m inviting people – including Jack and Noah -- over to my house for dinner on Friday – act like a grown-up, Gabe. Jack’s our friend – we should be happy for him.”

Gabe tried, he really did. 

But Jack could do so much better. He might have blurted that out once or twice at dinner, no more than three times. Looking right at Noah, he talked about how he could kill a man with one finger and hide the body where no one could find it. He had a lot of stories like that. Other than that, he ignored the accountant and talked to Jack, Ana and the other Overwatch folks instead.

Ana pulled him aside. “What’s wrong with you?” she hissed.

“Nothing.”

“I love you, Gabe, but dammit, there are times I don’t understand a damn thing you do.”

He didn’t like Jack’s boyfriend. So what. Big fat furry deal.

The next week, he stopped by Jack’s office. Noah was reading a book while waiting for Jack in the waiting room. Gabe sat down across from and took out his phone. “He’s my friend – I’ve known him since he was eighteen.”

Noah looked up from his book and nodded. “Jack’s told me a lot about you.”

“Only the good, I hope,” Gabe said without a smile.

“Jack is a very positive person.” Noah picked up his book again.

“Jack means a lot to us –“ Gabe started.

“I get you don’t like me for some reason.”

He could hear Ana’s warnings but he ignored them. “No – I don’t. I don’t like you at all and I don’t like you hanging around. You know what I mean.”

Noah went pale. He packed up his book in his satchel. “Tell Jack I’ll meet him in the main lobby,” he told the admin Hala as he scurried away.

Gabe had a talent for putting the fear of hell into people and he was only getting better at it the older he got.

Jack stepped out of his office. “Hala, where’s Noah?” he asked.

The admin cast a nervous look over at Gabe. Jack groaned. “My office. Now, Reyes,” Jack commanded. “Please send my apologies to Noah, Hala – I’ll meet him at the restaurant.”

Once inside the office, Jack slammed the door shut. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Gabe?”

“I was only talking with your friend,” Gabe replied. He shrugged.

“Right. And I’m king of the world.”

“Are you sure about that?” Gabe said with a harsh laugh. “Look at all the posters covered with your face. Like you’re the only one in Overwatch.”

Jack rolled his eyes. Putting his hands on his hips, he shook his head. “Leave Noah alone.”

“Hey, you bring him here. He’s gonna run across dangerous people. Your problem, not mine.”

“Fuck it, Reyes. This isn’t about you.”

“Never is, Morrison, is it?” Gabe angrily pointed at the pictures on the wall. “Yeah, you’ve brainwashed everyone into thinking that Overwatch is all you and no one else. We do the hard work and you end up in the news. It’s not fair – you should spread the wealth a bit, stop being the glory hound for once.”

“You always throw in my face that I’m not being fair to you. I call bullshit on that,” Jack snapped. “You’re just as unfair to me.”

Everything that Gabe had put up with ever since Jack was named Strike Commander flashed through his mind. All the slights, the insults, the disrespect, the crap he had to listen to. And here was golden boy Jack snapping at him like Jack was all innocent and stuff. Jack had no fucking right in the world to accuse him of all people of being unfair. If anyone was unfair and disrespectful, it was Jack. 

Gabe shoved Jack against his office wall and pinned him there with his arm against his neck. Jack coolly stared at him, mercifully not moving or talking for once. He could be a motor-mouth at all the wrong times. Gabe saw the spray of faint freckles across his nose, the dark rings under his eyes, and a sprinkling of grey hair at his temples. A face he had known since they were kids. A face he had loved for years.

“Take that back,” he hissed at Jack.

“No – you don’t get the final word on this,” Jack said slowly, carefully pronouncing each word. “You don’t want me but you don’t want anyone else to have me.”

“Bullshit.”

“I can’t live like this.” Jack’s stare bored holes into Gabe’s soul. “Let me go, Gabe.” His voice cracked. “Please.”

With an angry roar, Gabe pulled his arm back and punched a hole in the wall right next to Jack’s still pretty face. Jack never flinched. He spat out, “You’re a fucking nutcase, Jack, you know that?” He never looked back as he left Jack’s office.

Gabe spent a long night at a dive bar in the city drinking with his Blackwatch buddies until the dawn trying to obliterate the memory of ever having met Jack. Finally, someone threatened to call an ambulance because Gabe could barely stand under the tidal wave of alcohol he drank. All that alcohol didn’t burn away his thoughts of Jack.

He sobered up, figured that Jack had gotten angry for some reason or other and decided to forget what Jack said. He avoided him for a couple of weeks until he felt that it all had blown over, like it usually did. He’d take Jack out drinking and all would be right between them again.

Hala stopped him as he went to open Jack’s door. “Commander Reyes?”

“Yeah?”

“You need an appointment to see the Strike Commander.”

“I’ve never needed one before –“

She firmly repeated. “You need an appointment to see the Strike Commander. What is your availability?”

Gabe could tell she was a minute away from calling security. “I’ll call later,” he said.

Damn it all to hell.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Um, sorry -- this is turning out longer than I expected. Hope to finish soon.

Jack loved his new house. 

The architect called it ‘minimalist revival’ and it was all sharp angles and soaring windows and carefully arranged space. Jack couldn’t shut up about it while it was being built. And now he was throwing a party for his Overwatch friends to celebrate moving in.

Gabe was lying on a chaise lounge by the pool drinking something blue and alcoholic that Jesse had given him. He watched Jack show off the wall of windows that slid all the way to the side so that the living room flowed right into the patio. He’d already been on the house tour from the basement to the top floor where Jack had a huge bedroom with an amazing view of the Overwatch base.

Tracer asked, “What’s up with the pictures of owls?” She pointed to a collection of artfully arranged photographs lining the stairwell.

“I like owls,” Jack said. “We always had one or two around the house I grew up in.”

Gabe preferred the little ranch houses on the street where he grew up. He thought fondly of the small gardens, front porches, large back patios with grills, and driveways with basketball hoops. Yards full of people and dogs and life and noise and the smell of food. He wanted to live there, not in Jack’s mausoleum of a house.

Ana next to him was spreading sunblock on Fareeha’s back. And Gabe was joking with Fareeha now laughing uncontrollably. “Stop it, Gabe, until I get this done,” Ana said with a laugh.

He and Jack had managed to patch things up with a lot of encouragement from Ana. But the fights and arguments and hostile silences still all came too easily. Gabe had promised to be on his best behavior. He did owe that to Jack. They were still friends after all. Friends for nearly thirty years. 

The party was in full swing by late afternoon. Jesse, Tracer and Angela were horsing around in the pool, splashing everything within a foot of the edge. Everyone else was talking or playing a card game in the corner. Gabe conceded that maybe Jack’s house wasn’t all that bad if he could fill it daily with friends and family and pets. He noticed Jack walking back into the house.

For some reason he followed Jack to his home office. Sitting at his desk, Jack held up a finger as he talked on his videophone to someone on base. Gabe cooled his heels looking at the walls.

Here was Jack’s family proudly displayed on the walls, a monument to Overwatch. The walls were covered with pictures from award ceremonies, celebrations, and parties, including a large framed photograph from Winston’s graduation party over Jack’s desk. Here, Gabe was looking at Jack’s entire life. He knew the story behind each picture on the wall, why this one meant something special to Jack or what they were looking at in that one. Lots of pictures of Jack and Gabe – drinking, celebrating, covered in mud and shit, in uniforms, in tuxes, on the beach, getting a medals, laughing. A lifetime together. 

Jack didn’t have family like Gabe did. He had a long miserable falling out with his parents and brothers and sisters that started when he was in high school and finally ended with complete estrangement some years back. Not like Gabe who had dozens of videos, holographic images and photographs of his sisters and nieces and nephews at the tips of his fingers. 

Jack hung up the phone. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

“I thought you were on radio silence,” Gabe said, as he leaned on the desk.

“It never ends. There’s a new report on Talon and Sam wanted me to know about it.”

Gabe walked around to stand behind Jack. He squeezed Jack’s shoulders. “Need a back rub?” He rubbed a few circles into Jack’s back. Hmm, Jack’s back was stiff and knotted up, needs work.

“I’m not going into work if that’s you’re thinking,” Jack replied. He leaned into Gabe’s hands.

“You gotta take a vacation, Jack.”

“Strange, I thought I was talking with Gabe, not Ana –“

Gabe slapped his shoulder. “Come on, when’s the last time you went on vacation?”

“There was this charity golf tournament –“

“A day, you took a day off. Don’t make me laugh.”

“Fine, if I take a vacation, would you come with me?” Jack turned around in his chair to look at Gabe.

“Really?”

Jack held out his hands. “Two week vacation, wherever you want to go, sky’s the limit.”

Gabe huffed and ran a hand over his head. He hemmed and hawed. He had a lot going on right now with a few planned missions, a bit of needed recruitment, reports. A few more minutes of silence passed. He could see the disappointment grow in Jack’s eyes. He weakened. “Sure – how about in a couple of months? That’d give us time to plan and you to clear your schedule.”

“Yeah, we could do that.”

But Jack’s face betrayed his thoughts that Gabe wouldn’t follow through. That cut Gabe deep. He put his hands on the armrests and leaned in. “I’m serious. In two months, you and me on a two-week vacation anywhere in the world. Just like the old times.”

Jack smirked at him. “Tropical island?”

“The hotter, the better.”

Jack’s eyebrow went up. Then the phone rang again. “You answer that, then join us on the patio,” Gabe said. “We can talk more about the vacation.”

Gabe stopped in the kitchen to get a beer. He paused when he heard the conversation on the patio between Ana, Tracer and Angela.

“So that’s why the omnic gave Jack a card with his soulmate mark,” Ana said. “A thank-you gift for rescuing their town. Now we were told that the omnic had a perfect record of matching up soulmates.”

Angela asked, “What was the mark?”

“A barn owl.” 

Tracer giggled. “That’s romantic, the idea that your soulmate is out there waiting for you.”

Ana shrugged. Then she cocked her head, knowing that her audience was hooked. She glanced around conspiratorially and leaned closer to the other women. “But Jack says he knows who his soulmate is. He told me that once years ago when he was drunk. You ask him now, he’ll deny it.” 

Tracey and Angela both went, “Ooooo.”

Gabe was intrigued. Jack’s known all this time who his supposed soulmate was? Hmm. 

Ana leaned back, throwing up her hands. “I know – that’s Jack.”

Coming out of his office, Jack walked through the kitchen just in time to hear the end of the story and was immediately the center of attention. “Ana, you didn’t.”

Tracer pounced. “So is it true, that an omnic told you that your soulmate had something to do with an owl?”

“Ana told you, right?” Jack replied. “Yeah, don’t always believe Ana’s stories. She likes to exaggerate.”

“Jack, I’m shocked!” Ana said with a laugh. 

“What’s the real story then?” Tracer asked.

“Nothing to it.” Jack shrugged. “Eh. It’s over-rated. Omnics have talents we don’t -- so I’m not saying it was all bunk. But you know, the whole soulmate thing, doesn’t make much sense the older you get.”

“Oh come on!” Ana exclaimed. 

“Why don’t you ask, Gabe? You were there, Gabe.”

“Hey – is anyone gonna show up and play volleyball with me?” Jesse shouted from the pool. 

Much later, when nearly everyone had left and it was just Gabe and Ana sitting and looking up at the stars. Jack was inside with Fareeha cleaning up the kitchen.

“So what’s this about Jack’s soulmate?” he finally asked Ana.

“What?”

“Jack told you about his soulmate.”

Ana tittered. “That’s a story from a long time ago. I don’t know if I even heard Jack right the first time.” She sighed wistfully. “It’s be nice if Jack did have someone. It must be tough rattling around this big place on his own.”

“Ha! I’m not the only one who thinks this place is too big for him.”

“Jack believed, you know, in the soulmate thing. He should be happy.”

“And me?”

“Gabe, you’re allergic to happiness,” Ana said. “You wouldn’t know the first thing to do if someone claimed to be your soulmate.”

“That’s not true,” Gabe muttered. He’ll prove Ana wrong – he’d go on that vacation with Jack, he’d be happy, it would be fine. 

 

Gabe planned to go on that vacation with Jack. He wanted to go with every fiber of his being. They talked about it, even picked a few places to consider. Then the unimaginable happened to Gabe. A mission went side-ways and even though he saved the objective, he broke his legs, punctured a lung and collected several other injuries. He would recover quicker than just about everyone else but the recovery meant he’d be grounded at the Swiss base for months. No vacation with Jack, even if they had found the time for it. 

He was losing his mind from being office-bound. He was there for the LaCroix tragedy with the death of Gérard and whatever the hell happened to Amélie. Overwatch went into crisis mode, tracking down what went wrong and where and when. Gabe itched to get back in the field to hunt out answers and find the people responsible. But he had to sit on his hands and help with mission planning for his Special Ops teams that needed his leadership. 

Even when he was cleared for field work, Gabe couldn’t quite return yet. He needed to expand Blackwatch to meet the growing threat from Talon. He handed off more and more duties to other squad commanders and Jesse, who was rapidly becoming his best second-in-command (no one would ever replace Jack in that role). He knew the ins and outs of Blackwatch but he fretted over losing control of what was happening beyond main base.

Jack and he fell back into arguing daily again after Reinhardt retired. Reinhardt made a poor decision leading to the cratering of a civilian aid station during an operation to round up some rogue omnics. The press had been awful, plastering pictures of the disaster and a shocked Reinhardt all over the news. Jack gave Reinhardt an option to retire at least.

Gabe did not like at all this side of Jack, the cold, analytical and calculating side. Jack valued Overwatch more than he valued his friends. “What the hell is wrong with you, Jack? It’s Reinhardt –“

Jack looked up wearily at Gabe slamming his fist on his desk. “You saw the pictures, you know what happened. The Oversight Committee would eat Reinhardt alive and throw the rest to the press. Do you want that, Gabe?”

Intellectually Gabe knew that Reinhardt had been getting older, he made mistakes he wouldn’t have made years ago, but he was still a friend. “We’re soldiers – we’re supposed to back each other up.”

“I have to make decisions that are in the best interests of Overwatch. Everyone seems to get that but you.”

“I hope you can live with yourself, asshole.”

A few months later, Ana was killed on a mission. Gabe waited until after the funeral before tearing into Jack for sending her. He showed up in Jack’s office, drunk, unsteady on his feet and full of rage. He yelled at Jack for thirty minutes, only stopping when he ran out of breath. 

Jack, face red and streaked with tears, pushed a tablet over to Gabe. “Have you read the mission report?”

Gabe sat down heavily on the desk. He flipped through the report. Poorly defined objective, poor command decisions, soldiers dead. Ana made one too many mistakes and paid for it. “This is on your head, Jack. How could you let this happen -- getting one of our oldest friends killed?”

“That’s a low blow, Gabe,” Jack said darkly.

“The truth sucks.”

“Get the hell out of my office, Reyes.”

After that, Gabe and Jack didn’t bother to move their fights behind doors. They yelled at each other at meetings, in hallways, in front of Overwatch staff, in front of UN representatives. They hurled vile vicious insults as only friends of thirty years could do. Gabe knew every fault and weakness of Strike Commander and he did not care if he hurt Jack or if he undermined Jack’s authority. This Jack wasn’t the Jack he had become friends with all those years ago in SEP. And damn it, he would have made a better strike commander than Jack any day.

In his rage, Gabe spent more time with his Blackwatch operatives and drifted away from his Overwatch friends. He didn’t need them silently judging him for his fights with the self-righteous Jack. Screw ‘em if they spoke up for Jack over him. He didn’t need anybody if they weren’t on his side.

The final straw was Jesse being reassigned from Blackwatch to an Overwatch post. Jesse jumped at the opportunity – apologizing to Gabe, of course. It wasn’t Jesse’s problem. Gabe blamed Jack and he was going to make Jack give him back. Or make him pay. Gabe didn’t care which option as long as Jack suffered.

 

For years afterwards, Gabe remembered that day down to the minute. 

His nerves were already on edge that morning about Jesse’s transfer out of Blackwatch. He’d been up most of the night before because he was so damn angry. He had an 11 am meeting with Jack to order him to reverse the transfer. It was their third meeting. Jack hadn’t budged one bit but Gabe wasn’t giving up.

He ran across Jack in the atrium of the main administration building on the Swiss base. Jack was nodding and saying hello to various staffers on his way to the coffee cart in the atrium. Jack could have had coffee delivered to him but here he was grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Oh, Gabe,” he said. 

“About Jesse –“

Jack looked down at the ground. “I’d prefer to have this conversation back in my office. Just let me get my coffee first.”

“You can’t reassign Jesse,” Gabe persisted, ignoring Jack’s pointed request.

“I can and I did. Please do us both a favor and drop it.” 

“He’s doing great in Blackwatch –“ 

Nosy staffers lingered in the atrium waiting for the inevitable shouting argument. That irritated Gabe even more.

Jack seemed determined to remain as civil as long as possible. “Gabe, this is bigger than Jesse. We need to talk about Blackwatch.”

“Oh, right, the usual complaint about how I’m running things –“

“You haven’t read the news?”

“I don’t care about the news – you know that.”

“Two major news sources ran investigative stories last night about the extent of Blackwatch corruption – extortion, murder for hire, kidnapping, embezzlement. They named names, Gabe, they have documents. I expect that you’d be familiar with the details.”

“It’s bullshit.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. Anyway, I’ve cleared my schedule this morning to deal with this. I’ll spot you coffee before we meet –“

Gabe felt a heaviness settle in his stomach. He’d seen Jack like this before in other crises. Calm, collected, lethal. Jack was going to destroy Blackwatch and Gabe along with it. “You believe these reporters over me.”

“I believe that you’d do anything to keep Blackwatch together even if it was rotten to the core,” Jack replied. “I’ve covered enough for you. I wish you dealt with these problems years ago.”

“This isn’t my fault –“

“You head Blackwatch – who else would be responsible?”

“Isn’t it your job to handle the media and the oversight committee?”

Jack gave a harsh laugh. “Oh, this is my fault now? You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. This is on you.”

The mid-morning sunlight streamed through the windows and skylights of the atrium. Beautiful gorgeous spring day with blue skies and puffy clouds. And the floor had fallen out of Gabe’s life. “What are you saying?”

Jack lowered his voice. “I’m saying that I’m giving you the option to retire.”

“Fuck you, Morrison. I didn’t do a damn thing wrong,” Gabe said, raising his voice.

“I don’t know that. I don’t know what the hell you’ve done at all. We’ve talked and we’ve talked and we’ve talked about Blackwatch. And you don’t do a goddamn thing to solve the problems.”

“That’s your job!”

“My job is not cleaning up your problems. I’ve been doing that for thirty years now. Cleaning up after you, fixing the messes you leave behind, making you look good. That ends now. You’ve got to make a decision for once.”

“You can’t do this to me, you asshole. You can’t take Blackwatch from me. You’ve taken everything else. Not this.”

Jack’s eyes flashed with anger. He drew himself up to his full height. He looked older now – faint wrinkles on his face, his hair turning a silvery grey, but he was still an imposing sight in his famous blue duster and Overwatch hardware. The famous Overwatch Strike Commander, known throughout the world, larger than life. “I’m tired of this. I’ve heard the same damn argument for years about how you should have been strike commander and how you could do my job better.”

“Damn right! I could name a dozen different operations I would have run better! I wouldn’t have gotten people killed.”

“I’m not in the news this morning for allowing people under my command to steal over three million dollars during a sting operation. So I figure I’m ahead of you on that.”

“Go suck my dick, Morrison.” Gabe’s blood was boiling and he clenched and unclenched his fist. He wanted to hit something hard until it broke.

Jack screwed up his face, clearly tamping down on his anger. “You know what – I’m fucking tired of this. Yeah, if you really wanted me to suck your dick maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess. You can’t make up your damn mind about what you want.”

“I know what the hell I want and I want you gone, Morrison.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “You haven’t done a damn thing about fixing Blackwatch because you’re afraid of fixing the problems because you might piss your people off and you might have to change how you do things. You’re so fucking scared of change and the future, you can’t do a fucking thing.”

“I’m not the one running scared from the UN.”

Drawing a deep breath, Jack tapped his foot a couple of times. “I report to the UN so yeah, I owe them explanations. As for you, Reyes, because I’m your friend, I’m giving you options. You can resign from Blackwatch or I can let Internal Affairs drag you out of your hole and parade you through the news and oversight hearings and I end up dishonorably discharging you from Overwatch. Take your pick.”

He paused, taking a breath, and spat out, “And thanks for all this. Thanks a lot. Even if I end firing you, I’ll probably have to resign myself and maybe that will be enough to save to save Overwatch. That’s what you did to us, you selfish prick. Did to all of us.”

Jack turned away, his duster flapping as he moved. Gabe hadn’t even processed what Jack said when he heard the muffled rumble.

The shock wave from the first explosion rolled over them, throwing Gabe to the ground. The floor shook as the windows shattered. “Jack –“ Gabe shouted. He jumped to his feet, grabbed his guns and tried to sort out where the attack was coming from.

Jack stopped in the corridor and locked eyes with Gabe. He nodded to him as he started to issue commands. Strike-Commander in command during a crisis.

Another explosion, then three more went off. Walls buckled and the ceilings cracked. “Jack!” Gabe shouted. The damn idiot needed to get out of the corridor.

People ran screaming through the atrium. Debris rained down as the building foundation and frame twisted, cracked and shifted. Gabe was tossed backward as a main support beam slammed into the remains of the atrium. He choked on the dust filling the air. He caught a glimpse of shining Jack calmly wading into the chaos, guiding people to safety, doing what he did best.

Gabe watched as another huge support beam with a large section of the ceiling came crashing down on Jack, swallowing him up. “Jack!” Gabe screamed as he ran towards the large hole in floor where Jack had been minutes before.

Jack was gone. 

Dead.

Even with his enhancements, Jack wasn’t going to survive a building falling down on top of him.

Jack wasn’t supposed to die before he did. As much as Gabe hated Jack right now, he couldn’t imagine a world without him. Thirty years of Jack couldn’t end like this.

Then darkness took Gabe.


	5. Chapter 5

Gabe should be grateful that he was still alive and had a job. Working for Talon wasn’t much different than working for Overwatch in a lot of ways. He got regular missions, whether to raid bases for intel or supplies or to assassinate a tricky target. In return, he drew a regular paycheck, had access to medical care, lived in a paid-for studio apartment, and got all the ammo and guns he could ever want. He still had to pay for internet and his phone.

But at the end of the day, it still felt like someone took a rusty knife and cut his soul thread by thread out of his body, leaving the husk behind. 

He’d been stripped of everything he ever had. Home, friends, family, health, purpose, love. Gabe lost everything he’d tightly held on to for years. He had nothing.

Worse, he had lost Jack forever. Only now that Jack was six feet under the ground in Arlington, Gabe knew how much he loved that bastard. He’d been everything to Gabe, a friend, a comrade in arms, an enemy. He should have been his lover too. So many opportunities Gabe pissed down the drain because Gabe had been afraid or distracted or thought he’d always have his friends around him. And now all he had was dust in his hands, haunting memories and taunts of what might have been.

After the fall of Overwatch and his rescue from perma-death, Gabe had been fueled by an unceasing incandescent rage. All Talon had to do was point him in the direction of an Overwatch base or an agent and he’d obliterate them. He’d shredded through security forces and bases, nailed his targets and missions, and set the world on fire. But nothing satiated his rage, nothing.

Talon didn’t like one particular vigilante that had hit too close to home one too many times. This vigilante wasn’t the usual home-grown terrorist. He targeted Overwatch bases and had a knack for evading surveillance. He was breaking into Talon bases or raiding deserted Overwatch posts to steal secrets, tech and intel or taking on Talon subcontractors like the Los Muertos gang.

Gabe snorted at the description of the white-haired man with a huge pulse rifle, tactical mask, and a jacket with 76 emblazoned on the back. He watched what little cam footage they had of the man. Clearly he had ties to Overwatch based on his tactics and targets. Still an easy target to eliminate.

To his massive annoyance, Soldier 76 as he styled himself was not the easy kill Gabe counted on. The mystery man had skills and an unexpected endurance. Gabe studied the footage they did have, watched his movement, and tracked him down. A few firefights and Gabe had the unsettled feeling he knew exactly who Soldier 76 was.

Didn’t make sense. He watched Jack get buried by tons of falling building. They buried Jack with honors and erected statues to his memory. No one would have made that mistake.

Then there was the Overwatch recall and Soldier 76 did not respond. So Gabe was right. Maybe Solider 76 had been an Overwatch agent trained by Jack -- there were more than enough of those people hanging around or even working for Talon. Gabe must be desperate if he is reduced to thinking he’s found traces of Jack.

It was not the first time Gabe had been wrong in his life but it still hit like punch to the guts when he discovered how wrong he was in the suburbs of Cairo. Soldier 76 undeniably moved like Jack, shot like Jack, and even sounded like Jack. Gabe stared right at his prey’s red tactical visor and he knew. He knew that Solider 76 was Jack. 

It just about killed him to see Ana help Jack limp away to safety. 

Once back at his assigned Talon base, he got angry again when he remembered Ana’s and Jack’s reactions. His rage burned white hot as he thought about how his closest friends were alive, not dead, and no one told him or cared to tell him. He could kill Jack for that reason alone. The rage fueled him and he wanted to kill them all and raze the remains of Overwatch down to the ground. 

The rage was good enough for a few successful missions. But the constant unceasing roiling anger took its toll. It was eating him up inside, finally leaving him numb and emotionless.

One night in the quiet of his small studio apartment, he cracked a beer and watched a soccer game. His thoughts strayed to Jack. Jack was alive out there. And Jack feared him. 

He could feel the press of loneliness and loss. Sometimes a person has to lose everything they have before learning the value of what they lost. That wasn’t Jack who did that to him. He did that to himself. 

 

The next time Gabe ran across Soldier 76, Jack was on a rooftop watching the new Overwatch agents fighting with Talon soldiers. Jack didn’t even look at him or say hello. Gabe took a breath and swallowed. “Your team isn’t doing badly.”

Jack replied, “They’re a bunch of fucking idiots. Winston, Angela, Tracey, Jesse – all they know better. The Petras Act lays it all out what happens if anyone tries to resurrect Overwatch.”

“You’re fighting too.”

“Because I don’t want to see them killed. Not much anyone can do to a dead man.”

“About that –“

“Fuck off, Gabe. I’m not in the mood to talk about the past or whatever other crap you’re peddling.”

Somehow his plans as laid out that morning in the bathroom didn't go quite as he expected. “I’m counting it a win that neither of us is putting a bullet in the other right now.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Gabe put a hand on Jack’s shoulder, only to have it shaken off. “Look, Gabe, let’s be clear here. The Jack you knew died. I have no fucking clue what you’re looking for or what you want. But those are the facts. I’m rejoining my team.”

 

Thinking on it back home, Gabe wasn’t sure what he was expecting. He missed Jack’s voice for one thing. Maybe that’s all he wanted. 

That’s how things went between them for the next few months. They hunted each other down, tried to kill the other one, then wound up arguing about everything under the sun and stars until they were tired. Mean vicious arguments that cut deep. Jack always said at the end “Fuck off, Gabe.”

Gabe looked forward to every meeting. Just knowing he’d hear Jack’s voice again lifted his spirits every morning. It reminded him of everything he’d lost. 

Finally, during one mission, he found Jack tucked away in a hiding spot watching the fight spool out over his visor. Gabe sat down next to him. Jack handed him a flask. “I’m too fucking tired to argue,” he explained.

Gabe took the flask as the peace offering it was. “What happened?”

“I’m working some leads but what I know is that someone wanted me and Overwatch dead. I woke up and had to run for my life – guys hunting me down. I survived. What happened to you?”

He could see the scars on Jack’s face, the deeper wrinkles, the white hair, the brilliant blue eyes. Jack was still gorgeous though

“Depends on the time of day – I’m dead and alive at the same time. They pulled me out of the debris mostly dead and brought me back. There were complications.”

Jack snorted. “Your face?”

Gabe hesitantly took off his mask. Jack looked carefully at him. “The way Ana talked, she made it seem like you were Cthulhu incarnate. To be honest – I liked it better when you had brown eyes, not the whole red thing you have going on, and when your lips covered your teeth.”

“It comes and goes.” It wasn’t one of his better days.

“Miss the scars,” Jack added. 

“Scars?”

“The ones on your right cheek. I remember when you got them –“ Jack sighed and checked his comms. “We’ve got a little more time. My team is trying to figure out their elbows from their assholes and I’ve giving them a half-hour to sort it out.”

“Who else knows?”

“Only me and Ana know about you. Angela has her suspicions.”

“I meant you.”

“No one really asks. The UN shoveled remains into a box, told everyone it was me, had my family I hadn’t talked to in years bury me and people went around erecting statues. Must mean that I’m really dead then, right?” 

Jack took the last swing from the flask and screwed on the cap. “It’s a polite fiction,” he admitted. “They know the truth and I know that they know. But I keep up the pretense that I’m not Jack Morrison and they don’t ask and we all get along famously. Except some of ‘em kept expecting me to somehow magically train them and be Strike Commander and all that crap.”

This Jack reminded Gabe of the Jack of SEP days. But an older, sarcastic, disillusioned, and cranky version. Gabe didn’t know if he liked this. Jack was always at his best with his optimism and ability to roll with the difficulties. This Jack bitched at the drop of a hat, complained about everything and everyone and was at war with himself.

“You didn’t ask about Ana – she’s got her own shit going on. She has to mend fence with Fareeha, who is not happy with her mother disappearing for years. Long story there.”

“I’ve got time.”

“I don’t. Fuck off, Gabe. Don’t count me being nice next time we meet.”


	6. Chapter 6

He felt Jack’s loss keenly. They didn’t talk or even see each other for two months. And Gabe became nearly desperate from the loneliness.

Gabe didn’t have friends in Talon. Amélie’s mind was so scrambled that she barely knew what was real and what wasn’t. He didn’t trust Sombra as far as he could throw her. She was on her side, no one else’s. They could work together as long as she didn’t put bullets in his back. But she wasn’t someone he was going to watch soccer with or go to the movies.

“Sooo, how’s the boyfriend? See him around lately?” Sombra said, sitting down across from Gabe in the base cafeteria.

“Boyfriend?”

“Soldier 76 – you seem to get all glowy when you see him.” She took a bite of her sandwich. 

Gabe ripped open his bag of potato chips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She smiled. “Whatever. You seem grumpier than ever. You need to get laid – your boyfriend isn’t bad looking for an old man.”

“And you need to keep your relationship advice to yourself.”

“See if I want to help you anymore,” she replied with an even larger smile. “Seriously though, keep the wraithy stuff on lock down and I think your man might be willing to jump your sad tired bones.”

He really needed to avoid Sombra when she was in a good mood.

 

For all his comments, Jack couldn’t stop being the hero and leader he was born to be. Gabe noticed the new Overwatch agents steadily improving. Jack was clearly coaching Tracer and Jesse to be better leaders in the field or pointing out strategic points to Symmetra for her turrets. Winston was suddenly working diplomatic channels to get approval for Overwatch missions. The new Overwatch still had their rough patches but the teamwork was getting smoother, making Talon’s work harder day by day. Gabe could see Jack’s fingerprints behind it all.

Gabe lingered around corners and dark spots hoping that Jack would find him. But Jack would pass by barely giving him a look. Gabe wondered what the hell had happened. Back at base, he stared morosely at his television screen, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. It was agony.

Eventually Jack broke down and started talking with Gabe again. No explanation, just picking up where they were a couple of months ago. “I suppose you’ve seen the news,” Jack stated. 

“The UN backing off the new Overwatch?”

Jack shrugged. “There are a few fans out there.”

“You’ve been training them,” Gabe said.

“There’s been too much death for too many good people. And they’re all good kids.” Jack shifted the pulse rifle on his shoulder. “They’re passionate and fired up about taking the Big Bad Evil in the world. Even Jesse who knows fucking better.”

Gabe heard the pride in Jack’s voice. He cracked an actual smile. “You like them.”

“Not when they’re playing music 24/7 at base. Then I’d like to blast them all. It’s a goddamn disco all the time.”

The next time they met up, Jack sat down and handed a flask to Gabe. They were in a park in daylight, no mission, just a take-out lunch and Jack in sunglasses and jeans. It was a good look on him, Gabe had to admit. He had braved wearing a hoodie but left the mask on. Two old guys shooting the shit on a warm day. 

Jack took out a biotic emitter and set it off in front of Gabe. He basked in the warm healing field, feeling more human than he did in months. Jack brushed back hair off his forehead. “You’re going a little grey there, Reyes.”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

“I’m going to grow old with dignity,” Jack said. “You look good, Gabe.”

“You’re just trying to blow sunshine up my ass because my eyes and teeth are in the right places today.”

“Nice to know how low our standards have gotten.”

Gabe had questions and he could tell that Jack was itching to ask his own. But he didn’t want to ruin the mood. So they talked about movies, soccer, guns, more guns and the weather. Like old times. Gabe stole a glance at Jack, who was smiling for once and Gabe’s spirits soared. 

Things were different now between them. They talked like they did long ago when all they did was fight omnics. It felt better than he remembered, closer, like they were more than life-long friends. Gabe wondered if this is what it would have been like for them had he let Jack move onto his own command. Would have they have met up in different cities, fought the enemy, talked about old times, drink the bars dry, then fuck until noon? They could do that now – well, some of it. They were in their 50s now. 

Gabe listened to Jack dissect neo-Westerns and what made them different from the classic Westerns he loved. He could listen all day to Jack complain about shitty films. Maybe he was a little in love with Jack. 

He didn’t want to leave but they couldn’t stay here forever.

 

“You don’t have to go back,” Jack said quietly. 

“Right,” Gabe replied. “I shouldn’t go back to the people who pay me and make sure that I’m still alive at the end of the day.”

“There are options.”

Gabe snorted and rolled his eyes. “You don’t talk to me for months, now you’re starting up the whole ‘you don’t have to live that way’ speech. Wow, Jack, give you enough room and you always end up being the righteous cheerleader.”

“Great, just great. Be that way.” Jack gathered up his stuff and left.

 

This time Gabe avoided Jack for a while. It was harder to do than expected. Talon was making a push to eradicate as much of Overwatch as they could. Gabe’s heart wasn’t totally in it. He had no problem killing off faceless, nameless soldiers. But he knew these agents. Friends, new friends of friends. Still he was assigned constant missions to eradicate as much of the new Overwatch as he could. He needed the money and medical care to keep his body together.

He caught glimpses of Jack now openly fighting side by side with the new Overwatch. He was as magnificent as he was when he was younger. 

Sombra called him an idiot. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. 

“He’s the enemy and he should be dead,” Gabe growled back. They were sitting in a bar waiting for the next assignment. 

She was clearly bored with waiting and had decided to needle him about his non-existent love life. “Like you’re going to meet someone better. He makes you happy.”

“You’re not my abuela.”

“You need one to nag you. So I’m filling in.” She swirled her drink. “For what’s it worth, Mr. Edgelord, you’re a good guy. I like you as much as I can like anyone. That guy makes you happy -- if you’re happy, I like hanging out with you more. And I love having no annoyances in my life. Ergo, get laid, get yourself a boyfriend, and we won’t be sniping at each other during missions. Happy Sombra, happy life.”

“That’s not persuasive.”

“But I’m always right.”

 

Jack handed him a small bag during the next firefight. “For Christmas, I guess,” he muttered. He melted away back into the shadows.

Back safe in his apartment, Gabe opened the bag to reveal a small jar of dirt and a heavy card. “You shouldn’t have,” Gabe snorted, assuming that Jack had given him a gift card. Ridiculous. But opening the card reduced him to tears. It was a letter from his mother, still tottering around in her 80s and living in his childhood home. She had enclosed holograph pictures of his sisters and their kids and even grandkids. He read the letter over and over again, choking up when he read “Gabi, I love you. Come home.” The jar of dirt? Soil from his mother’s house.

He couldn’t possibly match Jack’s gift. The best he could do was to leave five high-level Talon operatives tied up outside Watchpoint: Gibraltar. 

Gabe would have to make a decision sooner or later about staying or leaving. He couldn’t see the way forward out of his problems. Jack had been making peace with the world. He wasn’t Jack. He was Gabe and making all the same mistakes he’d made since the beginning. Damn it all to fucking hell.

 

He led a mission to break into an old Overwatch watchpoint in Numbani. The plans were for an overwhelming force to wipe away any interfering Overwatch agents. Flawless mission so far and Gabe was more than pleased to see good plans come together. The Overwatch agents were retreating, distressed and about to break.

Then he saw Jack laid out on the ground. Not moving in a way that sent chills down Gabe’s back. Not thinking, he ran over to Jack. There was no way in hell he was going to let Jack die again on his watch. He gingerly checked Jack for one of those handy biotic emitters.

Gabe found one and set it off just in time. The warm glow surrounded them. Jack stirred after a minute. “You need to go,” he wheezed. “Someone will be coming to get me.”

“No,” Gabe stated. “I’m staying until you’re safe.”

Jack coughed wetly, sending a spike of fear through Gabe. He had no real experience as a field medic – that was always Jack’s job – but he knew that Jack was in bad shape and he was helpless. He looked for any more of the handy biotic emitters in Jack’s clothes.

“Don’t bother – I only had a couple on hand.”

“Hang in there, Jack. Who’s coming – Angela?”

“Probably Fareeha – she’s closer – they have to get a transport.” Growing paler by the minute, Jack closed his eyes. “Maybe this isn’t so bad – dying this time. At least you’re here.”

“Yeah, I’m here. And you’re not fucking dying.”

“Ha. I’ve been here before. I used up all my luck once.” He opened his still brilliant blue eyes and managed a smile. “I should be angry with you. But I don’t have the energy anymore.”

Gabe heard a couple of explosions and a spate of gunfire. “Hang in there, Jack.”

He rambled on. “I loved you – always, maybe from the beginning. I had all these plans and ideas – all gone you know – I should have moved on, years ago. Why couldn’t you love me back? I didn’t understand. I don’t understand. Can’t stop loving you.”

“Um – don’t say anything that you’ll regret later –“

“I’m dying. DYING. I’ve already done a practice run at this so I know the drill.” Jack patted Gabe’s hand. “It’s okay. It’s for the best.”

An Overwatch transport landed and Fareeha, Ana and Hanzo rushed out. 

Jack kept talking. “I got that card from the omnic – remember that?” He chuckled. “Found out you were my soulmate. Waited for you to figure it out. You never did. That’s okay. I was probably wrong about us anyway.” His voice trailed off, his eyes closed, and his breath was shallow.

“Jack?” Gabe asked.

“We’ve got him,” Fareeha announced.

Gabe stood out of their way as they quickly bundled Jack up on a stretcher. Ana put a biotic emitter on his chest for the trip. She turned to Gabe. “Come on.”

“I don’t –“

“I’m not in a mood for your bullshit, Reyes. Get your ass into that transport,” Ana snapped. “Or I’ll kick it all the way back to Gibraltar.”

He did as he was told and Ana let him sit next to an unconscious Jack. He prayed for the first time in years that Jack would make it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone for the kudos and comments. Each and every one means a lot to me. I hope you enjoyed the story.

Back at the Gibraltar base, Ana vouched for Gabe and he was left by himself in a small room while Angela operated on Jack. Gabe paced the floor. He had done this a thousand times before for Jack, Ana, Jesse, lots of the soldiers under his command. This time was different. 

Jack loved him. Had loved him for years. Still loved him after everything. 

Shaken, Gabe had no idea that Jack felt that way. The longer he thought about it, the more he had to admit he might have known. He had taken Jack for granted a million times, expected him to always be there, just like the sun and moon. All he knew about his life was unraveling and shredding apart and he had no idea how to stop it or where it was going to end.

“I have something to eat, if that’s something you do,” Ana said.

“Thanks,” he said reaching for the wrapped sandwich she offered. “How’s Jack?”

“Seems to be going well. Angela won’t say anything until she’s done.”

Gabe nodded. The sandwich tasted like dust in his mouth and he choked it down. Ana tentatively patted him on his back. “Can I stay until he’s safe?” he finally asked.

“As far as I’m concerned you can stay as long you like.” She frowned. “But I can’t take you seriously in that get-up. I’ll get you something decent, like a hoodie and jeans.” She squinted as she appraised him. “You look about the same size as before.”

“You know what I look like without the mask.”

Ana scoffed. “Have you seen what Jesse is wearing these days? Or Hanzo? We have omnics, a cyborg, a DJ, and a gorilla on our team. You’ll fit in.”

“It’s not just that –“

“No,” she agreed. “You’re here for Jack. I’m okay with that. We’ll work out the other stuff later – if you want to.”

 

Jack survived the operation. Gabe hesitated at the door of his room. Jack was hooked up to machines and IVs and was deeply asleep. Gabe brushed hair off his forehead and tugged the blankets over his shoulder. He planned to wait until Jack woke up. Just to make sure that Jack was fine, then he’d go. 

“He won’t wake up for some time,” Ana said softly over his shoulder. “He’ll be fine.”

Gabe nodded. He appreciated the support even as the guilt for working with Talon was now gnawing its way through his heart. He’d really messed up in every possible way. Reinhardt was being way too generous to him. “We’re not young anymore, we don’t bounce back like we used to.”

“But we’re not dead and that’s all that counts.”

Gabe looked up at her with a half-smile. “You’re talking about yourself, you know.”

She rubbed his shoulders in response. And she left him to wait by himself after a half hour. She shut the door to keep out the overly curious younger members of the new Overwatch.

The Gabe that had walked in through the door before was not the Gabe that left the room. Watching Jack’s breath even out and his chest rise and fall changed him. A lifetime of death and destruction had taught Gabe that there would be times he would lose someone and that loss was permanent. Things don’t get rebuilt or don’t regrow or regenerate. His life had been too wrapped with Jack that he’d been lost when he thought Jack was dead. What would he be if he lost this rare second chance to set things right between them?

“I love you,” he whispered hoarsely.

“I know, you asshole,” Jack replied sleepily. “I love you too.”

 

No one promised Gabe that it would be easy for him to work his way back to redemption. He visited the rapidly healing Jack who had been sentenced to bed rest for a little while longer as much as he could. Otherwise, he kept to the small room he’d been assigned and tried to prove that he was harmless.

Ana and Reinhardt had lunch with him. She drank her tea and mentioned, “Angela wants to see you.”

“Why?” Gabe looked over at Reinhardt who shrugged.

“She wants to check you out. See if she can help with whatever is affecting you.”

He blurted out, “I don’t – I don’t know if I’m going to stay or you’ll let me stay. Winston is dead set against it, last I heard.”

Ana exchanged a knowing look with Reinhardt. He said, “It won’t be easy. It’s been a brutal few years for all of us. But we’ve been friends for nearly thirty years and you and Jack go back even further. Maybe you can prove that you’re the old Gabe Reyes, our friend. Or you’re just the Reaper working for Talon.”

 

Jack set up his quarters a distance from the other team members. Gabe thought that he was looking for peace and quiet. But Jack laughed. “No, look at this.” He pushed open a door, which opened out on a deck that looked over the sea. “I’m not giving this view up. If I lived with the rest of ‘em, I’d been looking at the fuel dump every day.”

Gabe breathed in the sea air, feeling his spirits lift. The restless waves sparkled under the bright sun and his skin felt warm for once. Jack had wrangled a couple of chairs and a table for his deck. He plopped down into a chair. “Winston won’t put me on the active roster until Angela clears me. She isn’t going to clear me unless she thinks I’m in perfect health. I’m ready to go but no one believes me.”

“I don’t believe you either.” Gabe rolled up his sleeves, his skin glistening a healthy color under the sun. “If my opinion counts.”

“Counts more than mine, to be honest.”

Gabe laughed. He liked being here on this deck with Jack. Jack was rapidly bouncing back and was already driving everyone nuts with his requests to get back in the field. And Gabe couldn’t justify hanging around to sit by Jack’s bedside for a reason to stay.

Finally he blurted out, “So the soulmate thing – why me?”

“Oh, yeah, that.” Jack sighed. “I’ve always known – back in SEP, we used to joke all the time that you were part owl. You know, you’d be silent and watching and then swoop down on the unwary recruit who fucked up. The face mask and hooded cloak thing you’ve been wearing lately makes you look like a barn owl.” Jack shrugged. “It didn’t take much for me to keep connecting the dots.”

“Tactical visor – you wear a tactical visor and that mask thing,” Gabe groaned.

Jack smiled grimly. “I’ve always worn a tactical visor of some sort or other for years.”

“Jack –“

“Hey, it’s okay. You never believed the soulmate thing and I came to the realization that we were probably at best platonic soulmates years ago. I don’t expect …. Well, I don’t expect you to love me back the way I love you. I can’t help it or stop it. I wish I could just not have any feelings about you, Gabe. Hate and love aren’t that different sometimes. I think about you all the time whether I’m in love with you or I hate your guts. Maybe that’s what soulmates really are in the end – just people with unbreakable connections.”

“Because I’ve been the world’s worst idiot for years doesn’t mean you’re right about me not loving you.”

“Whatever,” Jack replied. “You don’t have to try to make it better. It is what it is. I learned long ago I can’t keep you. If you want to go, then go. If you want to stay, then stay.”

“Stop. Just stop.” Gabe took a deep breath. “I’ve been blind for years. And now I have to figure things out. Yeah, I love you back, you jerk. I’ve probably been in love with you for years. I was too afraid or wrapped up in other things. But we have a chance –“

Jack laughed bitterly. “Gabe, if you’re joking around, I don’t think I’d forgive you again. I’ve forgiven you for so damn much over the years. I might have even forgiven you over Blackwatch in time.”

“I remember it differently –“

“You could survive anything like a cockroach. I couldn’t tell you a damn thing because you were so goddamned determined to ignore all the warning signs. I knew even if I told you the UN was going to destroy Blackwatch, you’d still tell me I had it all wrong.”

“Oh.”

“If you didn’t know, you’re kind of stubborn.”

Gabe reached out for Jack’s hand. “I want to give us a try. I’m serious about that.”

“Right.”

“No, dammit, I mean it.” He tried to scoot the chair closer to Jack. But the chair refused to move.

Jack narrowed his eyes. “What you are doing?”

Gabe struggled to get out of the chair but his sleeve got caught in the armrest. “I want to kiss you.” He unhooked his sleeve.

“What –“

He didn’t let Jack finish before he pulled Jack out of his chair and planted a kiss on Jack’s lips. Jack froze, then clearly thought better of it as he returned the kiss with a pent-up fiery passion. God, if he knew that Jack kissed like this years ago, he wouldn’t have waited years for this. Shivers went down Gabe’s back as Jack slid his arms around his waist. He didn’t want this moment to end, ever. He could stand here forever under the sun feeling Jack’s love pour over him, reminding him that he always had a man in his corner who loved him more than anything.

“I’m going to disappoint you,” Gabe admitted as he broke off the kiss.

Jack pressed a smile into his skin. “So what? I’m no bed of roses either.”

“There’s so much I’ve done wrong.”

Jack pulled back to look Gabe in the eye, keeping his arms linked around Gabe’s waist. “It’s going to be work, Gabe, a lot of work. I’m not holding any illusions that it’s going to be kittens and rainbows between us from now on. We’ll fight and argue and be miserable. But you know we’re great together. That’s what I’ll be holding onto.”

Gabe kissed his forehead. “I promise to try.”

They sat quietly for a while on the edge of the desk, where the railing was broken off. Jack leaned his head on Gabe’s shoulder and Gabe with his arm around Jack’s waist. Gabe’s heart was full with peace and a happiness he hadn’t felt for years. He kissed Jack every now and then, just to remind Jack he did love him.

Finally, Jack asked, “Do you want to be here?”

“Does Overwatch want me?”

“That’s not the question,” Jack sighed. “You’ll have to work to get the team to trust you. Some of us are more understanding – Jesse, Reinhardt, Ana for starters – but you’re going to have to prove yourself to people like Winston and Tracer.”

Gabe looked out at the waves going back and forth. He couldn’t put this decision off forever, like he had so many other ones. “I like to think that I’ve learned a lot over the past few years and I’m not afraid of hard work or a challenge,” Gabe admitted. “I’ll want to be here.”

“That’s all I can ask.”

“I have one question. Why’d did you reassign Jesse?”

“I figured if I got him out of Blackwatch before the shit hit the fan, he could still have a career in Overwatch. Jesse had come to same conclusion, but he didn’t want to upset you.”

“Ah. I see.”

“Doesn’t mean I wasn’t an asshole about it.”

“Doesn’t mean I wasn’t either,” Gabe admitted. He squeezed Jack. “I like this. I wish we always –“

Jack kissed his jaw. “Dwelling on the past isn’t going to help us anyway. Yeah, maybe, it would have been great if we got together back in the first Omnic Crisis. But we didn’t. We’re here today.”

“First Omnic Crisis?”

“Living under a rock, Gabe?” Jack chuckled. “We’re on the verge of the Second Omnic Crisis any day now.”

“Hmmm. I want to be on the right side of that fight. Together.”

 

A year later and Gabe was still at Watchpoint: Gibraltar and living with Jack.

Jack surprised him with a cake and a special bottle of wine in their quarters for celebrating one year of living together. They sat outside on the deck looking out over the moon-lit sea. Jack pushed over an envelope. “A gift?” Gabe asked. “I thought we weren’t doing gifts.”

“It’s for us,” Jack said with a smile. He looked as gorgeous as ever, and happier than ever. He ever let Angela treat the scars on his face – they’d never really be gone, but they were less prominent. Gabe infinitely preferred a happier Jack, more like his old self before the old Overwatch went to shit. 

Gabe smiled back. 

Life couldn’t be better. He was winning his friends back slowly. Jack surrounded him with pictures, warmth, family and things worth fighting for. His condition could be handled like any other chronic illness, at least that’s how Angela saw it. A carefully balanced regimen of biotic field baths, good diet, and rest got Gabe to a point where he spent more time in a state of regeneration than decay. He had more than enough work and he loved every moment of it.

“Are you going to open it?” Jack prodded.

“Tickets – you got me tickets to LA,” Gabe said in shock.

“For us. We should see your mom and sisters. Winston’s okay with us taking a few weeks off, as long as we don’t start a firefight or anything.”

“The Crisis –“

“We’ll be on call, if that make you happy,” Jack conceded. “Your mom has been asking about a visit and I thought it was a good time to go.”

For the rest of the night, they talked about their vacation, where they would go, the places Gabe wanted to show Jack. Gabe’s heart was so full of love he was near bursting. Good thing it was near time for bed.

As Jack gathered up the plates, Gabe glanced up at the moon. “We’re going to have to do something about that moon base someday.”

“Imagine that – Jesse in his cowboy hat and boots fighting super intelligent gorillas on the moon with Hanzo and Genji. Sounds like something from a comic book,” Jack said with a laugh.

“Our lives are like a comic book.”

In bed, Gabe settled into Jack’s arms, his back to Jack’s chest. Jack kissed his neck and shoulder. “What if –“ Gabe asked.

Jack breathed in his ear. “Don’t think – it’s our anniversary. I love you, that’s enough for now.”

Gabe felt a tightness in his throat. He clasped one of Jack’s hands. “I love you too.” That’s enough for forever.


End file.
